THE Crossing

Finally, we have weather window that looks great for our crossing so we double checked all of the systems and our navigation so that we were sure that all was in order. This is probably the most dangerous part of our trip thus far. What makes it dangerous is that the Lolligag does not go very fast therefore it would take us approximately 20-24 hours to cover the 153 miles to Dunedin, Florida by going diagonally across the Gulf. We do have the option of going “around the bend” as it is known if one travels around the panhandle of Florida. Mark and I discussed all of the options and we really felt we wanted to make the diagonal crossing. We both have plenty of confidence in the boat and I have total confidence in Mark’s ability to captain the boat and his navigational skills. All of our electronic navigation equipment is replicated by three as well as having multiple copies of all the hard copy charts. In addition, when we make a trip of this nature, Mark always manually plots out the course on the charts in case the electronic systems should fail for any reason. So with all that being said, we were ready and even very excited to start our journey across the Gulf.

One area of concern is the crab pots that are everywhere as one approaches the western coast of Florida in this area. Mark wanted to make sure that we had daylight as we approached these crab pots which are seen as early as thirty miles off shore. Therefore, with the Lolligag’s speed and the miles to be covered, we left the dock at Carrabelle at 2p. This gave us approximately five hours of daylight and time to get well into the Gulf before the sun vanished. Between 8p and midnight, IT WAS DARK out there, but at the same time it was really cool. We could see stars like we have never seen before as well as the Milky Way. At midnight, an almost full moon came out to what seemed to be almost just for us. The moon then lit the way very well for us during the remainder of the night.

The following is a slide show of what it is like to make this journey. If you can play it really fast on your computer it is almost like a movie.

This was sunset.






This was sunrise.





This is Mr Auto Pilot driving the boat while Mark takes a break.



I am doing what I do best.



We both truly enjoyed making this trip. At times it was boring, but when we would think about what we were accomplishing, we would become excited again.

Hours on the water: 21
Nautical miles traveled: 153
Number of locks: 0
Time spent waiting at locks: 0
Next Destination: SLEEP
What we're listening to: Hollywood Station by Joesph Wambaugh = Very Good
What we watched: The water and each other
Lesson for the day: Take a chance - you might just surprise yourself.
Obligatory knitting report: Carol Anderson Tunic Sweater for me